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Fostering... do you need to buy accommodation?

LionheadLuver

Warren Veteran
Hiya

I would love to foster rabbits. Do you have to pay for the accommodation? I know they give you hay/straw/food etc and they pay all vets bills. Also, how long do they roughly stay with you?
 
I foster for Walsall RSPCA (Lucy) and have 6ft hutches and also runs which they provide :) Dont have to pay for anything, whereas some rescues i believe you even have to pay for food etc :?

I guess it depends on the individual place :) xXx
 
I foster and the hutch and run was provided by the rescue.
I provide bedding and food etc (my choice tho') but any vaccs or medical stuff are covered:D
 
It definitely depends on the individual place. Some provide hutches, some don't - and of course if you already had a decent sized/condition hutch, I'm sure most rescues wouldn't insist on you using one of theirs! I bought my own hutches when I started fostering a few years ago, but that was more down to my choice than anything else - of course it helps the rescue but also it gave me a little more flexibility to use them for my own buns or to rescue one on my own.

I would normally pay for everyday goods such as food, hay, litter etc, and the rescue would pay for vets bills - or at least they should 'technically' be responsible for them but as far as possible I try and pay myself. I appreciate that not everyone can help in that way though, so as long as the situation is made clear at the outset, it shouldn't be a problem. You may have to bear in mind though that emergencies do arise from time to time, and you may end up having to be able to find money for emergency vet fees before the rescue can reimburse them (e.g. if you have to rush somewhere in the middle of the night for treatment). You will also need to be able to get to a vet whenever is necessary, and this includes for emergencies.

Also, you'd need to have a dialogue with the rescue you're working with as to why they want fosterers. If it's a rescue mainly based at one premises, they would probably want all of the 'ready for rehoming' ones there, so that potential adopters can see all those that are ready. So this can mean that fosterers are used to provide temporary emergency care (e.g. if there is an urgent case but nowhere to put it!), for poorly buns if the fosterer is able to cope with this, for buns that have behavioural problems that need work (my favourite!) or for buns that need to gain/lose weight before they can be neutered. If a rescue is based on a network of fosterers then of course you may just have normal bunnies waiting for rehoming - although this may also mean that you'd be expected to have visitors come to view the bunnies.

Just as a general note, you will also need to make sure that your foster area is totally separated from your own bunnies - you need to be very careful about the potential for the spread of infectious diseases, especially with newly "admitted" buns with no known history, and sometimes the smell/sight of new bunnies can cause fights among bonded couples, so it's important that they are separate and dealt with at separate times. If you're handling them a lot I'd also suggest changing jumper etc again to help with preventing cross-contamination and taking smells around the other buns.

There are a lot of variables, so the best thing you can do is find a rescue near you and offer to help, and see what they say. Not every rescue will use fosterers, or will use them in a different way to how you are able to help, so it's really a case of having a chat with some and see what happens.
 
I provide and pay for everything when I foster for BARC except some vets bills (and neutering), in most cases the rabbits also have to go to the rescues own vets and not mine unless it's an emergency.

Personally I would feel very uncomfortable taking money for feed & bedding from a charity, and they would also not be able to foster out as many rabbits due to the increased bills.

Once buns are in foster care they are classified as 'non-urgent' which means they will often drop down the waiting list to go to rescue in place of those who are classified as at risk. I think my last two (Cheeky & Icarus) were here for nearly four months.

Also if you take in young, ill or behaviourally troubled rabbits you will probably keep them for longer than a healthy, friendly adult.
 
we pay for most of the feed and bedding but not vet bills. I already had a hutch and we got another one for free that was no longer needed. I don't know if Fat FLuffs would buy someone a hutch run if they were thinking of fostering but didn't have one, probably I expect although you'd probably have to be quite serious about it. First find your rescue I think & have a chat to them about what they provide.
 
I also foster for BARC and pay for food bedding and hay etc. They can sometimes stay forever :oops: when you become a failed fosterer lol
 
I couldn't take in the number of buns I do if it wasn't for the girls and guys who foster for me. Unfortunately rescues are not sitting on spare cash so it isn't always possible to provide everything; it's not a matter of fosterers having to pay for food and hay etc, most of the FFs won't take help from me when I offer it but if someone is having a tough month of course we'll help out. Fostering is meant to be an enjoyable experience not a strain financially.

When I fostered for Jill I payed for the day to day living expenses, it was my way of supporting her and the work she was doing so I actually saw it as a privilege.

When it comes to length of stay it varies with each bun. I try, in general, to foster out the fit and well buns who are ready and waiting for their new homes. It is sometimes guessable which ones will be with us longer and which ones will be snapped up but there are no guarantees.
 
When it comes to length of stay it varies with each bun. I try, in general, to foster out the fit and well buns who are ready and waiting for their new homes. It is sometimes guessable which ones will be with us longer and which ones will be snapped up but there are no guarantees.

This is another area where rescue's vary, BARC usually foster out rabbits who are not yet ready to be rehomed for various reasons and then they go into the rescue to be neutered and rehomed from there...which is pretty much the opposite to how FF operates. :)
 
I foster for the RSPCA and pay all the food, hay, etc. I also had the accommodation myself. I also pay most of their vets bills because otherwise they would be seeing a crummy vet so if I pay for them to see my vet then I know they get good vet care. My current trio have been here since August (or rather, have been joining me since August, they came as three individuals and I bonded them as a trio), and they will be here for the foreseeable future. My other foster was only here for a week, but he already had a home to go to, so I was just a pit stop.

These three are here because they are all pretty special in their own way and didn't cope so well in the centre. A home setting has worked well for them and they will go from here to their new home, but will be advertised at the RSPCA.
 
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